App Review: Guess the song

Soundhound – Android, iOS & Windows Phone users (it is even available for Blackberry for those of you who still use these)

Do you remember that song that was stuck to your head the other day? The one which you know none of the lyrics and can barely remember how the chorus sounded? Yeah, that same one with some familiar voice singing, but you just can’t figure out who is playing it. Rejoice! You no longer need to worry about racking your brain, trying to remember snippets of the words or the music to find that one lousy song you so desperately want (need) to hear. With Soundhound all you need is a smartphone or tablet with a working microphone. The app detects any sounds around the mic and takes an educated guess on which song is playing. If you are one of those lucky jerks who happens to open the app just in time to have it listen to the actual song on the radio, your guess will be pretty much 100% accurate (unless you’re so unlucky that the song is not in their database yet). If you don’t have the song with you, well you better try singing like you do in the shower. Soundhound has the ability to understand even a simple melody, so you can try humming as well, just try to be clear and make the app understand whichever noise you’re making.

Pros:

The app’s guesses are generally very accurate

Displays many different guesses when the sound input is not the original song (the app tries to help you when you sing or hum)

Most songs the app displays will contain some image and background info on the artist (beats trying to Google the lyrics!)

You can even use this app without internet, Soundhound will save your search until you can find a connection

The app keeps a log of successful and pending searches

Once a search is successful, the app lets you search for the lyrics and play the song on Spotify

Once the app has gathered enough information, it automatically displays the song

Cons:

It can take up to several tries to get the app to somewhat understand what you are singing

When singing or humming, you need to manually decide when to stop making Soundhound “listen” to you (sometimes it is hard to know how much you need to sing for it)

Supported by ads

The paid version that removes the ads and has a couple extra features costs $6.99

You can get this app for free on the App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and Blackberry Store.